The Height Between Us
by TheClumsyTail
Summary: What if the Evil Queen hadn't told Rumple that Belle had died? What if she had said that she was still locked up in the tower? What if Rumple went to find her? Meanwhile in Storybrooke, what if Jefferson had never saved Belle from the asylum? What if Mr Gold had to find her?


p dir="ltr"Note: This is my first fan fic, so bear with, it probably won't be the greatest. Also, I am only on S2 of OUAT, so forgive any mistakes. Anyway, enjoy!/p  
p dir="ltr"A tall, black haired woman stood, as if she owned the place, in a majestic room with ceiling to floor windows and a long oak table in the centre. Well, it would have looked majestic, if not for the smashed artifacts lying around there destroyer, a golden skinned man with messy limp brown hair, and dark empty eyes that tore into your soul. He, may have been handsome in a different life, but his magic had corrupted him, inside and out./p  
p dir="ltr"The woman smirked as she spoke, "I have a deal to discuss... a certain mermaid." Her eyes hovered on the table, where a tea set lay, apparently immune to the destruction that had befallen every other object in the /Rage burned in the man's eyes, but he replied calmly "I'm not dealing today"/p  
p dir="ltr"The woman walked towards the tea set and began pouring herself some tea as she replied airily "Are you angry with me? What is it this time?br /"Your little deception failed." He said bluntly "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you'll never beat me."br /That caused a mocking chuckle to escape from the woman's lips "Is it about that girl I met on the road?" She feigned thinking "What was her name? Margie? Verna?"br /"Belle." Came the short reply, as he turned from her to look out a window/p  
p dir="ltr""Right..." She sighed "Well you can rest assured that I had nothing to do with that tragedy."br /Fear struck like an icy blade in the man's heart. He spun around, urgency tinging his normally unreadable tone "What tragedy?"br /A smirk crossed her face as she replied "You don't know?" She chuckled "Well after she got home she found her fiance had gone missing" Her eyes bore into his knowingly "And after her stay here, her 'association' with you, no one wanted her. Her father cut her off, shunned her.. "br /"So she's in need of a home?" He cut over her, his dead eyes, alive with a sparkle of /"Oh..." She smiled "She has a home...locked up in her father's tower... probably being tortured beyond repair"/p  
p dir="ltr"Suddenly a golden hand appeared around the woman's throat "Where is the tower, dearie?" br /The woman tutted, and pushed him back. "I said I came here for a deal, Rumple. You give me what I want, and I'll give you..." with a wave of hand, a crinkled map appeared in her hand "...this" br /Rumple giggled "So this mermaid?"br /"Oh I don't care about her anymore. I can get something much better in exchange for your true love."br /Rumple narrowed his eyes "What do you want then, dearie?"br /"Oh, I'll let you know, when you get to the tower" she replied airily. br /"I know a trap when I see one" Rumple replied "And this has it written all over it."br /"Do want it or not?" The woman waved the map at /Rumple giggled "Oh, I always love a good trap, dearie." He held out his hand "the map."/p  
p dir="ltr"The woman smiled and handed him the map. Rumple's long fingers hovered over it for a moment, but then giggling he took it. "Thank you, dearie!"br /"The pleasure is mine " The woman replied, as sickly smile contaminating her face, as Rumple's eyes scanned the /"The image of the rose represents the tower. The weaker Belle's life force gets, the more faded the rose grows."br /Rumple nodded and then shuddered slightly as the rose faded slightly./p  
p dir="ltr""Well!" The woman exclaimed "I better leave you to your ever so important quest. I'll see you again when it's over, dearie!" She wrinkled her nose "Ugh, I'm starting to sound like you." She pulled a mirror out of nowhere and adjusted her jet black hair slightly "Ah well, at least I don't look like you!" And then in a heartbeat, she disappeared into a purple mist, leaving a broken man alone in his broken castle./p 


End file.
